Products containing fucoxanthin have been commercially available as, for example, dietary supplements, for a number of years. Fucoxanthin is a carotenoid commonly found in the pigment of several different seaweeds including, for example, brown seaweed. A carotenoid is one of a group of orange or red plant pigments that include the carotenes. Carotenes occur in several isomeric forms, at least one of which is useful as a dietary supplement due to its nutritional properties.
Previously available fucoxanthin-containing products were not particularly efficacious for use as dietary supplements, however, for a variety of reasons. For example, the percentage assay of the ‘active’ fucoxanthin in such products was typically less than 2% (by wt.) total fucoxanthin content. This limited amount of active material has been found insufficient, however, to produce the effects such as weight loss desired by those who ingest such products. Additionally, the iodine and heavy metal contents of the previously available commercial products was relatively high. That is, analyses of such prior art products have led to the discovery that both iodine and, e.g., arsenic, were present at unacceptable levels for the product to be considered fit for human consumption.
Further, the above-described ‘prior art’ products were typically tested by their manufacturers by means of a well-known Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-Vis) analysis method for the presence and/or concentration of the active component. This testing method, however, has subsequently been found not to be the best method for achieving these ends. This is due to the fact that the method is more apt to provide a general indication for the presence of any carotenoid pigment, such as beta-carotene and is thus not capable of specifically monitoring an amount of fucoxanthin present in a sample. The UV-Vis method of testing thus provides unreliable results, which thereby permits the introduction into the marketplace of products which contain no trace of fucoxanthin but which are, nevertheless, alleged by the manufacturer and/or marketer to contain this material as an active component.
Finally, as is well known in this field many of the carotenoids, including fucoxanthin, are relatively unstable. Thus, they are rather readily degradable due, for example, to the influence of environmental factors. This result is antithetical to the requirements of manufacturers and retail outlets which market supplements containing fucoxanthin as an active material which typically require that the active component exhibit a relatively lengthy shelf life of about 2-3 years.